'Destiny' is in the Stars

Bob Bartel

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, April 11, 2007

A long-awaited star is rising this week. It was the first of many that will rise as "The Gateway Advance Stars" in the San Jacinto Historic District—a part of Project Stars. Project Stars is a collaboration of the visions of Pct. 2 Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, and Economic Alliance President Jan Lawler to highlight the 5th largest historic district in Texas, and the largest in Harris County.

Several of those historical stars dot the Crosby-Huffman-Highlands-Baytown area. From its origins in Harrisburg, the original capitol of the Republic of Texas, Project Stars will blaze a trail eastward along SH 225 towards its destination at the San Jacinto Monument.

The focal point of this trail of stars will be gigantic EpicArt displays portraying the battles for Texas' independence and other subject matter generic to Texas.

This art will be prominently displayed on storage tanks lining the Pasadena freeway and throughout the east Harris County community. Some of the art will refer to specific events relevant to the community in which it appears.

The first of these artistic dioramas began with an application of the special photographic film to a storage tank just east of the Allen Genoa exit on SH 225 on April 10. The tank is part of the Lyondell Houston Refinery located at 12000 Lawndale. A grand unveiling of the project will be April 16 at 1 p.m.

This EpicArt display, titled "Destiny," will be 40 feet high and 70 feet long. It represents the first step of a master plan, two years in the making. The installation is being done under the guidance of Gary Forman, of Native Sons Productions, using a special film technique developed by Robert Eng in in his million dollar California studio.

In the panel, a Texian is pointing the way toward the San Jacinto Battleground, symbolizing both the choice of where Sam Houston's army would engage General Santa Anna and his troops, and pointing the pathway of Project Stars.

"This has never been done before," said Forman of the technical nature, materials and thematic concepts used to create EpicArt. "'Destiny' will be composed of 34 panels each one about 4 feet wide by 20 feet high. We used an H3D39 Hasselblad digital camera with a 39 megapixel resolution to take the photo. This is the kind of camera used by NASA in the space program. Re-enactors were clothed in historically accurate garments tailored by Steven Abolt. Bill Hamilton out of San Antonio did the graphic design."

Eng uses a special 3 mil plastic film developed by 3M Company to print the photos in his shop.

The technique was used by the National Park Service four years ago on a truck which carried a traveling show depicting the explorations of Lewis and Clark. "The display still looks like new," said Jan Lawler of the Alliance. "That's why we selected this process. It's unique."

For Eng, this is the culmination of an art that has been in development for 20 years. He said, "I feel lucky to be a part of this project. I'm really excited."

While it has been in planning for some time, and has only been possible through the efforts of many people, the project could not have gotten off the ground without the fund-raiser held by Pct. 2 Commissioner Sylvia Garcia in September. Because she was unopposed in her recent re-election bid, she dedicated over $400,000 in what would have been campaign money toward Project Stars.

Garcia's efforts helped coordinate the efforts of many others. Forman said, "Every project needs a spark; a champion. Commissioner Garcia has been that champion."

Garcia responded, "I'm committed to getting this done. Monday's unveiling is what we needed to show people that we're serious about this project. This will bring out the sunshine in Texas history again."

Lyondell spokesman, David Harpole spoke of Lyondell's part in the project.

"They needed a clean, well-prepared surface for the application. We had just repainted this crude oil storage tank at a cost of about $500,000. The tank is 48 feet high, and 180 feet in diameter, and it is well located for the project. We're delighted to be involved and the first to participate in this great historical project."

Lawler agreed that this first project was what was needed to get the ball rolling on Project Stars. "It took tremendous cooperation to get to this point. Gina Manlove and (North Channel Area Chamber of Commerce CEO)Wayne Oquin were co-leaders in pushing this forward. They never gave up. We needed a business to be the first to volunteer as the 'canvas.' Lyondell stepped forward there. It was in the perfect location to introduce Project Stars. Now several other businesses are stepping forward as they see how exciting this project is and how much it will contribute to the community."